Water & Wastewater Divisions

Wastewater Division

The Wastewater Division completes daily routine inspections and maintenance of 25 city-owned pump stations, provides general maintenance of approximately 66.3 miles of sanitary sewer infrastructure, completes television inspection and mainline pipe repairs, and provides lateral and service line locates, and responds to after-hours emergency calls. The main objective of the city’s wastewater system is to collect and transport approximately 1 to 1.5 million gallons of wastewater daily to the City of Clearwater Northeast Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility safely, effectively and efficiently.

Water Division

The Water Division is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the water distribution mains, fire hydrants, and service lines; and for installing or disconnecting all water meters. The primary objective and responsibilities of the water division is to provide adequate quantities of quality water at sufficient pressures at all times to the residents of Safety Harbor through the construction, repair, inspections, and maintenance of the water system infrastructure. We conduct water sample testing for compliance with all regulations set forth by Federal, State and County agencies pertaining to potable water. Within this division is the meter shop which is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the water meters, and backflow devices. Currently there are approximately 7,493 water meters and 1,150 backflow devices and 544 fire hydrants in service. The City of Safety Harbor receives all its potable water from Pinellas County at approximately 1.5 million gallons daily, with a water pressure of 55 to 70 PSI (pounds per square inch). The City currently has 76.3 miles of water mains that distribute water to a population of approximately 15,000 residents and water service area customers.

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners approved the addition of fluoride to the water system on November 29, 2012, with implementation on March 1, 2013.

Pinellas County's first priority is the protection of public health. We are in full compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) standard for fluoride in drinking water. Pinellas County's fluoride level is well below EPA's Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4.0 parts per million (ppm) and EPA's Secondary MCL of 2 ppm, which was set to protect against cosmetic dental effects that may occur from excess fluoride consumption.

Based on new information regarding the relative contribution of fluoride from sources other than drinking water, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has proposed an optimum fluoride level of 0.7 ppm.

The fluoride level in our community drinking water will be 0.7 ppm, which is the minimum of the optimum range of 0.7 to 1.2 ppm recognized to promote dental health.

Pinellas County will remain alert for further developments regarding any proposed regulatory revisions pertaining to drinking water fluoridation.

The City of Safety Harbor purchases all of its potable water from Pinellas County Utilities. Pinellas County Utilities has made a necessary change to their water disinfection process. They are now disinfecting their potable (drinking) water with chloramines. Chloramine is a form of disinfectant produced by combining chlorine with ammonia. Both chloramines and chlorine are disinfectants that destroy potentially harmful bacteria should they enter the potable water system.

Chloramines have been used safely in the United States and Canada for many years. Tampa and Miami/Dade are among the cities in Florida that use chloramines as part of their water treatment process. For most normal uses of potable water, chloraminated water is the same as chlorinated water. There are 2 groups of people, however, who need to take special care with chloraminated water:

Fish owners

Kidney dialysis patients

Chloramines must be removed from the water used in the kidney dialysis process and from water that is used in fish tanks and ponds.